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How Not To Get Mugged Online

Date: Feb 10 2010
Author: Bill Husted
Article ID: 1877

No, the Internet was not created so you could order cookies online.

It came about as academics, government folks and scientists began to link various computer networks together. It's a patchwork creation that is both magnificent and highly flawed when it comes to security.

It's magnificent because it lets you do so much from your home computer -- banking, shopping and even playing games -- for free.

It's flawed because these features also serve as a gateway for crooks to abuse your trusting nature and separate you and your money. Today we'll talk about some of the pitfalls and ways to avoid them.

E-mail Spoofing

Not long ago I got an e-mail telling me my online bank account had been breached and I needed to follow a link -- in the e-mail -- to change my password. The e-mail wasn't from my bank; filling in the information would have handed crooks the information they needed to raid my account.

Yet, at a glance, the e-mail passed muster. The return address, for instance, matched the bank's. That's because of a flaw that allows what techies call e-mail spoofing. A relatively simple procedure makes it easy to send an e-mail that appears to come from your bank, the administrators of your favorite online game, or even whitehouse.gov.

Sometimes these spoofed e-mails are easy to spot. They might be full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. But it is almost impossible to tell a well-crafted spoof from the real thing.

To avoid trouble, never respond to an e-mail that asks for passwords, Social Security information or account numbers. If you think the e-mail is authentic, call the bank, company or government agency to check.

An Easy Connection

There are times we need to check e-mail or access the Web while away from home. Nowadays that's easy. Many hotels, coffee shops or other businesses offer wireless connections either free or for a fee.

Unfortunately, most of them offer no security at all. I've sat with security experts and watched ...Read the entire article...

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